From: Scott Chase (ecphoric@hotmail.com)
Date: Sun 24 Aug 2003 - 06:07:36 GMT
>From: joedees@bellsouth.net
>Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
>To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
>Subject: Re: Freddy Krueger as social contagion (some spoiler content)
>Date: Sun, 24 Aug 2003 00:12:54 -0500
>
>From: "Scott Chase" <ecphoric@hotmail.com>
>To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
>Subject: Freddy Krueger as social contagion (some
>spoiler content)
>Date sent: Sun, 24 Aug 2003 01:02:03 -0400
>Send reply to: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
>
> >
> > OK, I broke down and watched the new _Freddy versus Jason_ movie
> > pitting everybody's favorite childkiller Freddy Krueger (of _Nightmare
> > on Elm Street_ fame) against everybody's favorite 80's slasher from
> > Crystal Lake Jason (of _Friday the 13th_ fame). The movie wasn't as
> > terrible as I expected. One rather nifty plot device was that Freddy
> > had been long forgotten on Elm Street and had no power because he
> > wasn't known or feared by anyone. The town's elder folk had managed to
> > wipe Freddy from cultural memory and the high-schoolers were unaware
> > of Elm Street's notoriously gruesome past. There was a cordon
> > sanitaire around the Freddy contagion as any kids who had been exposed
> > to knowledge of him years previously were placed in a mental
> > institution and dosed up on an experimental drug that inhibits
> > dreaming.
> >
> > Well Freddy has the bright idea of enlisting the aid of Jason to get
> > his name mentioned on Elm Steet once again and regain power. So when
> > Jason does his special slasher magic and kills people, it's assumed
> > that Freddy is the culprit. Eventually people start mentioning his
> > name and the high school kids become aware of the Freddy legend and
> > his power increases. Now he's able to invade the high schooler's
> > dreams. Thus Freddy comes back as a result of social contagion, with
> > help of Jason. The rest of the movie had the obligatory gore and a
> > smidgen of suspense (not much), but the 'Freddy as social contagion'
> > plot device was rather nifty I thought.
> >
> > I was unfortunate enough to be subjected to a trailer for the upcoming
> > remake(?) of the _Texas Chainsaw Massacre_. I imagine Leatherface will
> > be making his comeback now on the coat tails of Freddy and Jason.
> > Maybe eventually they will become a power trio.
> >
> > Every once in a while the horror genre makes a new gasp for air. _The
> > Ring_ was a pretty decent movie with a sort of contagious plot device
> > of its own, where a videotape must find victims, so some girl trapped
> > in a well can exact revenge. Did the victims have the videotape or did
> > the videotape have them?
> >
>The Ring has already been cyberaped in Fear.com.
>
The American version of _The Ring_ was itself adapted from a Japanese movie.
This Japanese original is available at my local videostore, so I might give
it a try sometime.
Another trailer I saw before _Freddy vs. Jason_ was for _Scary Movie 3_
which spoofs several recent movies, including _The Ring_. That should be
worth watching for parody value, kinda like Weird Al doing his version of
Nirvana, Coolio or Eminem.
Parody movies are big. Look at the success of the _Airplane_ movies.
Actually, _Freddy vs. Jason_ becomes a self-referential parody of itself,
intentionally or not.
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